The penultimate episode of the first season of Legacies did not hold back. We finally got some answers to our burning questions. Of course, we were left with some new questions too. For example, how can they stop the Merge from happening? Did Landon forget that Hope is not a vampire, werewolf, or witch and that she may not be immune to the threats of Malivore? Should Lizzie enter into a baking competition to get better? Where can I get my own magical prism to work through my problems? This episode also had a major theme of loss of balance and trying to restore that balance. What do you think is going to happen in the season finale? Do you think our favorite characters will finally find the balance they have been looking for?

A CHANGE OF HEART

Agent Clarke is still a major mystery to me. He is clearly manipulative but also comes across genuine. He’s either a very good villain or a good guy pretending to be a villain. Or maybe he is neither of those things. He baffles me. The backstory of Malivore, which turned into his own backstory, did make me more understanding and empathetic to Malivore and Clarke. It seemed to work on Landon as well, which makes me nervous. Should we be so quick to believe Clarke? Do any of you think he is lying? I want to root for him because he seems to be working against Triad who are working to wipe out all supernaturals. It also doesn’t help Triad that Clarke mentioned that “Monsters became whoever they [Triad] didn’t like.” Clarke even makes the viable point that Malivore has kept creatures alive, while the Salvatore School has killed supernaturals when not knowing what to do with them.

Although, Clarke seems to be appealing to the desires of Landon and the audience. Landon wants a family and I would hope that fans of the show would want for him to find that. Clarke tells Landon that he is what Malivore had been trying to create for his entire life; that Landon is perfect, human, and can be the legacy Malivore always wanted. Clarke even presented himself as Landon’s brother and talked of a family reunion when reviving Malivore. He told Landon, “I’m offering you a family who actually wants you.” Clarke knows what Landon wants and seems to be using it to his advantage. Maybe part of me wants to root for Clarke because I want to believe in some happiness that he could potentially bring Landon, but I can’t get all swept up in the idea of a possibility. And neither should Landon but he does. Can you blame him?

SIPHON OFF

Lizzie and Josie have given me some serious whiplash over the last few weeks. They have gone back and forth from recognizing their codependency and trying to stop it to clinging to it. They have fought and made up more times than I can count. Now, all of this would aggravate me if they weren’t sister and this wasn’t how some siblings act. Siblings argue; it’s a thing.

The show has done a really great job at stressing the idea that Lizzie is the one who is incredibly dependent on Josie. Josie always has to cater to Lizzie’s needs because Lizzie needs more attention of her own reasons. However, Josie is not innocent in their codependent relationship. Josie has come across as innocent in a lot of the problems that have arisen between her and Lizzie, and the show sees to be shining a light on that more and more. Lizzie is the one who always blows up or melts down. Josie is just as capable of blowing up or melting down. They both are, hence why they were both so quick to siphon magic out of the nearest object to get back at one another. Like Lizzie said, “Codependency takes too people. Yes, I’m awful and needy, but deep down, you’re happy to hide and let me be the one that they hate because you’re too scared to be yourself. You are as much a part of this cycle as I am.” I am glad that the show pointed out Josie’s hypocrisy in this situation, since she has been putting most of the blame on Lizzie.

Let’s not forget, they’re teenagers and could use the assistance of adults and professionals in learning how to break out of this cycle in a healthy way. I don’t think the Twin Forgiveness Cuddle is going to get them very now. While Josie is completely right when she said, “We should have our own lives. We should be our own people,” there is also a need for a balance there. Yes, Lizzie and Josie should have lives that do not revolve around each other. They should have things that are entirely their own. Yet, they should also depend on each other, like sisters and friends do. They can need each other and be each other’s person when things are good and when things are bad. I hope that Legacies does get to a point where the twins get the help they need and we do get to see Josie and Lizzie live outside of this toxic, codependent relationship while maintaining a close relationship with each other.

IT’S ALL AN ILLUSION

FINALLY, Ric had a breakthrough about how much he can handle with this school. Emma was one of a few characters in this episode who pointed out that the school’s mission had grown past something one man can handle. There were little moments throughout the episode in which I could see Ric’s leader stance falter. One of them is when he attempted to break Rafael’s fight up only to find himself thrown across the room. When Raf went to help Ric up, Ric flinched away from Raf. He hadn’t really done that before. When Emma left and what she said when she left seemed to really stick to Ric and open his eyes even more.

However, what really did Ric in was losing control of his daughters and the they found out about the Merge. The girls figured it out on their own for the most part. I believe they knew more than what Ric would have wanted, had he known how to bring the topic up to them before that time. It seemed as if Ric could temporarily lose control of the school or the monster of the week because he still had control over when and how Josie and Lizzie would learn about the Merge. It broke my heart to see him sit Josie and Lizzie and down and break this hard truth to them. Ric said, “When exactly is the right time to tell your children that you don’t know if you’ll be able to protect them? I mean, when I look at you sometimes, I still see you as little girls. Riding your bikes for the first time. Learning to walk. Dancing on my feet. When I look at you, I see all of that. So I was never ready to tell you. I’m still not.” DOESN’T THAT JUST HURT YOUR HEART? Ric couldn’t control the fact that his girls grew up and are insanely smart and gifted. They were bound to figure it out sooner or later, with or without him.

All of this led Ric to one of his favorite safe places, one I have seen him at many times over the years, the bar. And to Dorian, of course. Ric caved and admitted that his control is an illusion, just like Emma suggested. He apologized to Dorian for kissing Emma, and Ric finally asked for help. Ric asked Dorian to come back to the Salvatore School because the kids “need leaders who can admit their mistakes.” This moment was crucial for me to understand where Ric is headed. He was a big enough person to admit and apologize for his mistakes, relinquish is feigned control, and ask for help. I am interested to see if this is something that is expanded on in the second season. Is Ric really going to go out of his way to hire a diverse, trusted, and capable staff to foster the kids into the great beings they can be? I hope so. Ric cannot do this all on his own. Even with the help of Dorian and Emma, there is a lot bubbling under the roof of that school and they’re going to need as much help as they can get. Ric even mentioned that there was more of a balance when it was him and Caroline. The school was smaller then. There can be a balance now too. I just hope Ric can find it.

TO LOVE AND BE LOVED

Hope’s conversations with her subconscious, which personified as Landon, through Emma’s magical prism led her to multiple personal revelations. These revelations were a long time coming, especially if you are a fan of The Originals. Hope reveals that there is a voice that rationalizes people leaving her since it tells her she is a “a cosmic mistake.” All of this resulted from telling her subconscious that she didn’t want Landon to leave because she was protecting him from abandonment but also because she wanted someone to think she was worth staying for.

Hope’s subconscious manifested itself as someone who deeply cares about her and promised to always find her. It is in this form that her subconscious helped her realize that she’s not listening to her gut and her heart. Hope knew that Landon was in trouble all along but Hope also knew that she was capable and worthy of loving herself, loving someone else, and being loved. This journey will not be easy for Hope; it’s not easy for anyone. Trusting someone else with that much of you is no easy task. Trusting yourself to know that you are making the right decision about who to let in and hope that they’ll stay isn’t easy. Optimistically, the end of this episode saw Hope headed in the right direction in trusting and accepting love. Hope was ready to “go full Wonder Woman” to fight for the man she loves with her Super Squad at her side. Someone cue her theme music!

OTHER SPELLTACULAR MOMENTS:

Hope tried to paint again in this episode. I love when this show highlights the artistic side of her.

I wish we could have seen how Lizzie’s banana cream pie turned out.

Lizzie penned Landon with another iconic and demeaning nickname this week. Lizzie also called Landon the “mop-headed elf.”

Of course Ric ripped every page about the Merge from every book in the school’s library.

“Nothing is immortal. There’s always a loophole. Nature creates a balance. That’s Intro to Magical History. I’ve been taking it for like a week.” – Landon Kirby